Short distances & live MPG

Yeah I think so. Largely due to engine warm up.

 

the pip would be perfect for you.

 

Absolutely. Cold starts with short trips hurt mpg on internal combustion engine vehicles in general, and Prius is no exception.

The way around this is to use an all-electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid that can make the trip in purely electric mode.

 

You just have to treat yourself to more road trips! Here is my simplified graph of my mileage.

 

Just drive, your gas mileage while sitting still is horrible!

 

Agreed a plug-in is best for these trips. I do three to four of these everyday and burn zero gas.

It's too late now but the OP can use any 120v receptacle near their parking spot as a "plug station"; no additional equipment or wiring needed. Simply pay the condo association a $20 monthly fee for the electricity.

 

You could get the block heater. Two hours plug-in is more-or-less optimum, will raise the car's coolant temp about 20C above ambient. We have it, use pretty much religiously, before the first start-up of the day. It has a side benefit, of making you think twice before hopping in the car for impulse spins. We'll just hoof it, if we need to run an errand really close to home, leave the car parked.

 

If they can't get a Prius PHV due to no receptacles, where would they plug in a block heater?

 

Whatever

 

You know, it might. This is REALLY something they should put in at the factory, all vehicles, much simpler then. The sad reality is that 90% of them would never be used though. Our daughter's Ontario Vibe had the blockheater, when they brought it out here (west coast). Totally grungy and never used.

When the dealership did ours, they did not run it out through the front grill, just bundled the cord and plug in the engine bay, on the fuse box side. Look for a silvery, sharp cornered cross-section wire (triangular or square?) snaking down the driver's side, back of the engine. The cord switches from silver wire to regular black cord nearer the plug, it's 3 prong.

If you look on Toyota Canada it shows the installed price of this accessory around $235 I believe. When we got it put in we got dinged $400, by Open Road Toyota, Port Moody.

 

Yeah, a plug in is wonderful for getting back that short-trip mileage. It would be fantastic to have them all plug ins, best of all worlds.

 

Yeah, the install is not that easy. Doable, but access is difficult. From above, you'd want to remove wipers, motor and cowl. Google "Nutzaboutbolts Prius spark plug" for a good video on this. It's also reachable from below; I believe either approach involves some Braille work, lol.

$400 seems like nothing when you're cutting a check for around $30K. But yeah, I paid full retail for that one, and it's good that Toyota Canada has cracked down and set an installed price on their website. I'd strongly consider the installed route, at $235. Particular with our exchange rate, shipping and duty charges, any US parts cost balloons by the time it's in your hands. And the grief of DIY on this one is significant.

 

The block heater will have virtually no impact on average MPG, its mainly a comfort option for those who want heat right away. Even under ideal block-heating conditions, you'll spend more on electricity than you save on gas. And at $300-400 for install, well that's more than 100 gal of fuel. So if its not worth the money to have instant heat, don't waste your time.

 

That depends on what else may be on the same circuit. Plug-in cars represent large loads, and must not be on the same circuit breaker as other large or medium loads. E.g. a plug-in car must not share a circuit with another plug-in car, nor even with a bunch of garage lights.

Without knowing the electrical layout of the facility, plug-in owners should not assume that the simple presence of a 120V receptacle means that it is electrically OK to charge there. Always ask for permission.